Happy Victoria Day!
Happy 2 4 long weekend.
More correctly, I hope that you had a good weekend!

This blog post is the result of a walk through Mt. Pleasant cemetery, down the ravine behind Yonge Street that goes under St. Clair East and the Summerhill railway bridge. After crossing Mt. Pleasant Road, take the right at the fork in the path to go uphill on Milkman Lane. This brings you out of the ravine close to Glen Road. Follow Glen Road south to Sherbourne subway station.

below: Lots of shades of red, green, and yellow in the cemetery.

I will dedicate this post to the man that I met on the path near the St. Clair bridge. He had many questions about the path and where it went. He was in awe that such a place existed in the city and was so excited to find it. He couldn’t linger though because he was on a break from work.

below: Dense clusters of fragile pink and white petals on a Japanese Flowering Cherry Prunus Serrulata.

below: The chains of humankind? Or something creepier? Please don’t put anything like this on my tombstone regardless of what they symbolism might be!

below: It was very quiet and surprisingly green on the path. I had procrastinated about walking in the ravines because I didn’t think that spring was far enough along. Surprise! Spring has sprung very quickly – the leaves have been popping out all over the place. May is a fantastic month – everything comes alive so quickly.

below: Walking on Park Drive, under Glen Road, following the Yellow Creek.

below: It looks like a throne under the bridge!

below: Yellow Creek, near St. Clair.

below: Wildlife!

below: Fungi growing out of a rotting log on the forest floor.

below: Mushrooms of a more colourful variety

below: Under St. Clair.

below: I didn’t see any real ones that day. You can spot this one close to Sherbourne subway station.

I know that this isn’t the first time that I have blogged about alley doors (previous alley post, Nov 2017) and I know that I tend to take a lot of pictures in alleys so I hope that you aren’t rolling your eyes right now. I’m not sure that I’ve found anything “wow” or anything completely new, but here we go with a little bit of rust, a splash of paint and a dose of weathered …..

below: A dead end alley with three levels of doors.

below: Lots of rusty hinges and peeling paint

below: Not an inviting place to sit and chat!

below: Something to catch an eye – a bright red door amidst the greys and browns. If you look closely, there is a bird roosting on the door.

below: Look up! And watch your step.

below: An alley with some colour in blues and greens…. and even a few straight lines.

below: Are you wondering if something’s missing? Where are all the graffiti covered doors?

Ahhh…. here we are.

below: Part of Graffiti Alley. A birdo eye peeping over a wall.

below: An eagle’s head

below: Another birdo, this time a rooster head and a ??? tail. Cock tail?

below: There really is a door under there. A very narrow door.

below: Another narrow door. This one is adorned by something purple, something that looks like a head but isn’t a head. More heads, as pasteups on either side of the door.

below: A solitary bird on a shadowy tree.

below: I think that there was once a red heart on that door.

below: Mass confusion on the wall, the door, and the window. Many people have left their mark here…

below: …. and here too. The door as a canvas that comes already framed.

below: Maybe the Pink Panther is suffering from writer’s block, pacing back and forth waiting for inspiration. Or he can’t find the doorbell? He forgot his key? No one’s home. Abandoned.

This is another Thursday Doors post inspired by Norm 2.0’s blog. You can check out Thursday Doors for links to even more doors that other people have blogged about. Take a wander over!

A week or so ago I explored a lot of little alleys and lanes in Seaton village. Once upon a time it was a village, named for John Colborne, 1st Baron Seaton, who was Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada from 1828 to 1836. The land here was originally settled and farmed by loyalists Colonel David Shank and Captain Samuel Smith. Eventually, George Crookshank acquired the property and he laid out the plans for a village here in the 1850’s; it wasn’t developed until around 1888 when the area was annexed by the City of Toronto.

Today it is the rectangular section of Toronto north of Bloor street to the CNR train tracks by Dupont and between Bathurst and Christie streets. It is part of The Annex.

When I started to write this blog post my plan was to focus on how all lanes are the same yet different. Their characteristics usually reflect the neighbourhood around them and the way the lanes are used. Every lane has a personality.

below: Vermouth Lane, one of the greenest lanes I’ve seen in Toronto. Why? Probably because there are no garages in the lane, except for the two that were beside me when I took this picture. The backyards that are on this lane are not big. There are one or two houses that have made room in their backyard for a car, but that takes up most of the space. The lane itself is also rather narrow.

below: In contrast, Col David Shank Lane (there’s that name again!) ends at a wide alley behind the stores and services on Dupont. It’s a working alley.

But that’s only stating the obvious, isn’t it?

Like the city around them, lanes are a mix of old and new, interesting and bland, plus well kept and neglected.

They are the less public side of city life.

below: As I looked for things that make alleys different, I kept finding little details like the old blue plant pot with its contrasting orange wall.

below: The textures and bright colours in the design made by aging paint on a garage door caught my eye.

below: A vegetable garden dominates the backyard.

below: A simple plant in a window in Tandy Murch Lane. Walter Tandy Murch (1907-1967) was a painter who was born and raised in the area. His mother, Louise Murch (nee Tandy), was a popular singing teacher

below: Through a hole in the wood, a glimpse of what lies beyond.

below: Abandoned plumbing fixtures lead to all kinds of jokes – outdoor plumbing

below: A once proud tree

below: A garage door that stands alone and not in a row with others.

below: Possibly a Rorschach test? A brown face is what I see. Do you?

below: And another test – can you find the paintbrush?
Not sure how it got there! Or how it’s staying there!

below: This could become a game. An “I Spy” kind of game. I spy a face.

below: Or perhaps we could play peek-a-boo?

And this is where I am going to leave you…. until another day when I walk more lanes and find more little details, more differences, to make me smile. And then we’ll play again!

First, a big thank you for being welcomed into Gadabout to explore and take pictures. Gadabout is a store on Queen St East and it is home to “vintage clothing, nostalgia, ephemera, textiles and curios.” It is packed full of old things. Interesting things.

below: And when I say packed, I mean it! Floor to ceiling.

below: Who could resist a watering can purse? In pink even.

below: Containers and packaging for Mennen baby powder, 40 cents for J.R. for Athlete’s Foot, Silvo silver polish, a tire repair kit, 6-12 insect repellent, and wintergreen oil. The latter is used topically to relieve muscle aches and pains. It’s labelled as a poison as it is easy to overdose on it if ingested.